The present application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No.2000-218113 filed Jul. 13, 2000, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-259985 filed Aug. 29, 2000 as provided for by the Paris Convention, the disclosures of said applications being incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates generally to a livestock feed composition, particularly to a feed composition which is suitable for the fattening of livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, swine and fowl, and more particularly to a livestock feed composition using Aspergillus to increase the nutritional value. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a livestock feed composition which withstands long-term storage and is capable of being produced economically.
Conventionally, maize, soybeans, barley, hay, molasses, beet pulp and wheat bran have been used as feed for fattening livestock. While it is the desire of livestock breeders to achieve the expeditious fattening of livestock, giving the livestock feed that is high in nutritional value for the purpose of fattening them can cause them to develop diarrhea, thereby conversely impeding their development. Therefore, the amount of nutrition which can be supplied, and thus the rate of growth of livestock, has been considered to be limited.
Additionally, one might consider the possibility of fattening livestock while simultaneously reducing the cost of feed by increasing the amount of wheat bran, which is cheap yet has high nutritional value, but wheat bran has a high phosphorus content, and feeding livestock large amounts of wheat bran can cause them to develop ureterolithiasis which can lead to death, so that the amount of wheat bran which may be safely included in feed has been considered to be limited to about 5% of the total amount of feed.
Furthermore, with regard to livestock such as swine and fowl, feeding them large amounts of organic wastes such as swill can lead to yellowing and softening of the fat in the livestock due to the high concentration of fats included therein, thus reducing the quality of the meat.
The primary object of the present invention is to offer a livestock feed composition which at least partially overcomes the conventional problems described above, and a method for producing such a livestock feed composition.
Another object of the present invention is to offer a livestock feed composition which has a high nutritional value and promotes the fattening of livestock without causing any problems such as ureterolithiasis or diarrhea, and a method for producing such a livestock feed composition.
Another object of the present invention is to offer a livestock feed composition capable of maintaining a low production cost, and a method for producing such a livestock feed composition.
Another object of the present invention is to offer a livestock feed composition suitable for the fattening of ruminant animals, and a method for producing such a livestock feed composition.
Another object of the present invention is to offer a livestock feed composition suitable for the fattening especially of swine or fowl, and a method for producing such a livestock feed composition.
According to a first aspect, the present invention offers a method for producing a livestock feed composition comprising steps of combining Aspergillus with at least two types of feed materials chosen from the group consisting of a fibrous feed material, a cereal material and an organic waste material, and allowing the Aspergillus to incubate to form an Aspergillus-containing livestock feed composition.
In the above, with regard to ruminant animals, the present invention offers a method for producing a livestock feed composition wherein the step of combining comprises adding a cereal material or an organic waste material to a fibrous feed material. The amount of wheat bran capable of being added to feed was limited to 5% or less due to the presence of phosphorus. However, problems do not occur in the livestock feed composition produced by this method, and an economical feed composition is offered.
Additionally, with regard to livestock such as swine and fowl, the present invention offers a method for producing a livestock feed wherein the step of combining comprises adding an organic waste material to a fibrous feed material or a cereal material. Conventionally, feeding livestock feed high in nutritional value can cause livestock to develop diarrhea. However, with the feed composition produced with the present method, it is possible to offer a feed composition high in nutritional value and promoting increases in the weight of the livestock without causing any problems. Additionally, this enables the effective reuse of organic waste which is produced in large quantities and the handling of which is problematic. Furthermore, it is possible to overcome decreases in meat quality by using organic waste materials that are high in oils.
Thus, with the present invention, it is possible to effectively produce a feed composition which is economically produced and high in nutritional value by combining Aspergillus with at least two types of feed materials chosen from the group consisting of a fibrous feed material, a cereal material and an organic waste material, and allowing the Aspergillus to incubate. Here, the Aspergillus may include such varieties as Asp. oryzae, Asp. awamori and Asp. sojae, which may more specifically be Asp. oryzae kawachii and Asp. awamori kawachii. 
Furthermore, it is possible to add one or a mixture of materials chosen from the group consisting of a fibrous feed material, a cereal material and an organic waste material after incubation of the Aspergillus.
Additionally, as a method for more favorably overcoming the above-described problems, a method is offered of adding Aspergillus to wheat bran and allowing the Aspergillus to incubate to produce Aspergillus-containing wheat bran, then mixing this Aspergillus-containing wheat bran with a cereal material or an organic waste material and allowing to ferment.
Furthermore, a method of producing a livestock feed material further comprising a step of adding one or more common feed materials selected from the group consisting of barley, rice, soybeans, maize, hay, molasses and beet pulp is offered. In this case, the amount of the Aspergillus-containing livestock feed composition should preferably constitute at least 5 wt % and up to 30 wt % of the entire livestock feed composition.
Additionally, the present invention offers a method for producing a livestock feed composition wherein the combining step comprises mixing at least two types of feed materials chosen from the group consisting of a fibrous feed material, a cereal material and an organic waste material having a water content of 50% or less and a starch equivalent of at least 15% or an oil content of at least 5% and heat-sterilizing this mixture to form a culture medium, cooling the culture medium to a temperature compatible with Aspergillus and mixing Aspergillus into the culture medium; and the incubating step comprises maintaining the temperature of the culture medium and the Aspergillus in a constant temperature tank to allow fermentation. With this method and under these conditions, it was observed that it is possible to produce a livestock feed composition which is (1) economical, (2) has high functionality and (3) withstands long-term storage with a water content of 20% or less. In particular, a method of adjusting the water content and starch equivalent or oil content of an organic waste material with a high nutritional value by means of a cereal material or a fibrous feed material is preferable, this method allowing for high-concentration organic waste materials which are treated as garbage on a fee basis, that is, normally requiring treatment such as incineration which costs money, as culture media for the Aspergillus, and the heat of fermentation of the Aspergillus enables a water content of 20% or less to be reached simply by maintaining heat and ventilating with air, thereby to produce a livestock feed composition capable of withstanding long-term storage. If the high-concentration organic waste material has a water content of 50% or less and a starch equivalent of at least 15% or an oil content of at least 5%, the Aspergillus is enabled to proliferate, and the heat of fermentation of the Aspergillus enables the water content to ultimately be reduced to 20% or less by means only of maintaining the temperature or ventilation, thus resulting in a livestock feed composition which is capable of withstanding long-term storage. Additionally, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the high-concentration organic waste material is first steam-sterilized. This is to prevent other micro-organisms from proliferating during the production process.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, after adding the Aspergillus, the temperature is maintained within the range of 35 to 50xc2x0 C. for at least 24 hours for fermentation while simultaneously reducing the water content to 20 wt % or less.
Furthermore, according to another embodiment of the present invention, an Aspergillus-containing feed composition is mixed with a high-concentration organic waste material. This procedure enables the water content of the feed composition to be readjusted.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a livestock feed composition comprising an Aspergillus-containing feed composition obtained by combining at least two types chosen from the group consisting of a fibrous feed material, a cereal material and an organic waste with Aspergillus and allowing the Aspergillus to incubate is offered.
In the above, with regard to ruminant animals, a livestock feed composition wherein the Aspergillus-containing feed composition is obtained by adding a cereal material or an organic waste material not containing animal proteins to a fibrous feed material is offered, and with regard to swine and fowl, a livestock feed composition wherein the Aspergillus-containing feed composition is obtained by adding a fibrous feed material or an cereal material to an organic waste material is offered.
Furthermore, it is preferable to add Aspergillus to wheat bran and allow the Aspergillus to incubate to produce an Aspergillus-containing wheat bran, mix the Aspergillus-containing wheat bran with a cereal material or an organic waste material, and to ferment the result.
Furthermore, the present invention offers a livestock feed composition further comprising at least one or more common feed materials chosen from the groups consisting of barley, rice, soybeans, maize, hay, molasses and beet pulp in addition to the above-described Aspergillus-containing feed composition, where the amount of the Aspergillus-containing feed composition preferably constitutes at least 5 wt % and at most 30 wt % of the overall weight of the feed composition.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a livestock feed composition which is capable of withstanding long-term storage is offered, this livestock feed composition being obtained by mixing at least two types of feed materials chosen from the group consisting of a fibrous feed material, a cereal material and an organic waste material having a water content of 50% or less and a starch equivalent of at least 15% or an oil content of at least 5% and heat-sterilizing this mixture to form a culture medium, cooling the culture medium to a temperature compatible with Aspergillus and mixing Aspergillus into the culture medium; and maintaining the temperature of the culture medium and the Aspergillus in a constant temperature tank to allow fermentation until the water content is reduced to 20 wt % or less.